ORLANDO, FL - Our industry is one that has never shied away from giving back and helping create better, stronger communities. That is why it was exciting to hear that Harps Food Stores kicked off “Produce for Kids Fridays” last week in celebration of its 5th Produce for Kids in-store cause marketing campaign. In addition to in-store signage offering healthy, easy meal inspirations for families, the produce teams at Harps will also be serving as campaign ambassadors by wearing Fruits & Veggies & Giving Back t-shirts every Friday and giving out $1 produce bucks coupons to families so they can try new fruits and vegetables.
“It was important to me to bring our entire produce team together to make a direct impact with shoppers for this meaningful campaign,” said Mike Roberts, Director of Produce Operations at Harps Food Stores. “The team has something to get excited about and gives them the opportunity to interact with shoppers by encouraging families to add new fruits and vegetables to their baskets.”
The weekly celebration that will be running now through August serves as a way to build awareness with shoppers and offer them incentives to make healthier choices, like adding more fresh produce to their carts. According to a press release, Harps’ Produce for Kids campaign was established in 2017, and since then has raised 880,000 meals for families in need through local Feeding America® food banks.
Produce partners are also a key part of the campaign and are being featured on the back of the t-shirts worn by the produce teams to show shoppers the companies that are giving back to their communities. Additionally, partners will be highlighted weekly with ad support and recipes that feature their products.
The list of 2021 partners include include Chelan Fresh®, Crispy Green, Dole®, Eat Smart, Greenridge Fruit, Halos, Litehouse®, Michigan Apples, organicgirl, POM Wonderful, RealSweet Onions®, Red Sun Farms, River Fresh Farms, Sage® Fruit, SamSonS grapes, PEELZ Mandarins, Sunkist, Tasteful Selections, and Wonderful® Pistachios.
“It is absolutely inspiring to see the Harps team come together in this way and making a direct impact with shoppers,” said Trish James, Vice President, Healthy Family Project. “Our campaigns are individualized to make sense for each of our retail partners, and it’s been a blast implementing new and innovative ideas in Harps stores.”
Other marketing efforts taking place through the year include regular Facebook Live Cooking classes that will be broadcasted on both Produce for Kids and Harps Facebook pages. There is also a sustainability focused website offering ideas for families at home and highlighting partners involved in sustainability efforts.
As Harps continues to work alongside Produce for Kids and the Healthy Family Project, AndNowUKnow will keep you updated on ways to help the efforts.
